Cell phone news

Virgin Mobile to buy Helio for $39 million in equity

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/27/virgin-mobile-to-buy-helio-for-39-million-in-equity/

Two years and $500 million later, Helio sells for a song. But why?

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/27/two-years-and-half-billion-later-helio-sells-for-a-song-but-wh/

Unboxing of Nokia 6301 (T-Mobile)

http://www.phonemag.com/unboxing-of-nokia-6301-063547.php

LG enV2 from Verizon

http://www.phonemag.com/lg-env2-for-verizon-hands-on-063443.php

iPhone 3G launch update, phone news

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9978429-1.html

World’s first iPhone 3G on sale in New Zealand a day before the US

http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/25/iphone-3g-on-sale-in-new-zealand-a-day-before-the-us/

Motorola Rokr E8 to land at T-Mobile

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9977212-1.html

Update Firefox 3 Download Day

Success! Over 8 million downloads of the new Firefox 3 web browser have occurred world wide in the last 24 hours.

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Yelp

Yelp ( http://www.yelp.com/ ) and I hit it off right away. Yelp is a community of reviewers who have a common geographic region. There are yelp communities in large cities all over The United States. Yelpers write and post reviews on a large number of subjects; restaurants, shopping, and food are three of the largest categories. I came to appreciate yelp after I found a pool hall I didn’t know about in a neighborhood I had spent years in.

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3G Apple iphone, Apple Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC)

Today at 1:00 O’clock EST marks the start of the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Apple CEO Steve Jobs is expected to announce the release of the 3G iphone. Engadget has details on the iphone: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/09/iphone-3g-is-finally-official/ . To check out details of Steve Jobs keynote speech live from WWDC, click this link: http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/09/steve-jobs-keynote-live-from-wwdc-2008/ . Please excuse me for a moment, I have to wipe drool from my chin . . . I sooo want one!

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Best Freeware Utilities, Hopstop Update

I like free utilities that perform as advertised. Some of these applications work as well or better than commercial products. There are many articles out there that claim to list the best free utilities that will make your digital life run smoothly. Here is a list I have found myself returning to time and time again: The Best-ever Freeware Utilities List, http://www.techsupportalert.com/dr/

Hopstop update: I tested two of the three mobile features Hopstop, http://www.hopstop.com/ , offers(I do not have the smartphone I would need to see the maps feature that Hopstop can display on PDAS. The Good: The SMS feature functions as advertised. I sent a text message(SMS) to Hopstop – - I wanted directions from a location downtown on the west side of New York City to a destination on the upper west side. In very short order I received five text messages from Hopstop. The instructions they sent were correct and were clear enough to be serviceable. The Bad: If you do not have a text messaging plan, all of these text messages may take a sizable bite out of your wallet. Hopstop’s voice feature lets you speak into your cell phone to ask Hopstop for directions. The directions will still be sent to you in the form of a text message. The voice feature only works for street directions in New York. The voice feature had trouble understanding what I said. I had to repeat my requests several times.

I do not have a smart phone; I was unable to test the maps feature. Perhaps one of you kind smart phone owners will test out the maps feature and let me know what she thinks. The Ugly: I find it easier to use a map or ask for directions. Hopstop sometimes gave me directions that made my trips longer than they needed to be.

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Hopstop and Phonezoo Games Update

I have been playing with researching Hopstop, http:// www.hopstop.com/ . So far I like what I see. Hopstop allows you to get door-to- door subway and bus directions, and maps for several large cities and metropolitan regions. Parts of the United States that are currently covered include: New York City, Metro North Area, Long Island, New Jersey, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Another cool feature Hopstop has is mobile capability. After registering on the site and plugging in your cell phone information, you can send requests for directions and get answers on your cell phone. If you have a smartphone you can also view maps. Hopstop also lets you plan a trip with multiple destinations using the itinerary feature. Hopstop also displays search results for places to eat, sleep, stay, and explore. I will post more on Hopstop’s features in upcoming posts.

Do you remember that I said that Phonezoo games can not be downloaded to Verizon Wireless phones?

I also said that I would give the downloads a try anyway, just to see what happens. Well folks, nothing happens. When I went to the download page to get a game, the “send to my phone” button was disabled. This holds true for Alltel Wireless subscribers also.

Got a question? Want to let the world know about a cool website, hot application, or a neat gadget?

Hit me up at asktonyc@aol.com

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Freecycle(TM) and Phonezoo update

Freecycle(TM) www.freecycle.org/ is an organization that allows people who have an item they no longer want to connect with others who would like to receive that item. This way our already overburdened landfills are spared from more trash, and both the donor and the recipient of the gift are happy. Items are not sold or bartered; they are given freely. I just registered a little while ago – - I will keep you posted on how things at Freecycle(TM) work out. By the way, the (TM) stands for the trademark symbol.

Phonezoo update: I tried downloading a free wallpaper yesterday. I got the wallpaper on my cell phone with no difficulty. Maybe I’ll try to download a game . . . just to see what happens! Please see my previous post about Phonezoo .

Have a question? I can be reached at asktonyc@aol.com.

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